The present invention relates to sample dispensers in general and in particular to sample dispensers having an outward artistic and ornamental appearance in the form of a human body and one or more movable appendages, such as arms and legs, which may be manipulated for dispensing a sample of a product.
Various designs of sample dispensers having an outward artistic and ornamental appearance are known in the art.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,694,959 to Ament describes an atomizer in the form of an ornamental figure such as a toe dancer standing with one leg upright upon a pillow while the other leg is substantially horizontal with its foot being inclined backward toward the upstanding leg and with an aperture at its knee. The aspirator of the atomizer is concealed within the leg upon which the figure stands while the spray tube of the atomizer is concealed within the substantially horizontal leg such that a sample of perfume can be dispensed through the aperture from a reservoir within the pillow.
Other designs of sample dispensers having an outward artistic and ornamental appearance include one or more movable appendages which may be manipulated for dispensing a sample of a product.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,767,911 to Berko et al. describes an atomizer in the form of a doll having one or more movable appendages, such as the arms and legs constituting parts of the doll, which may be manipulated to cause atomization of a perfume, the spray issuing from one or more orifices in portions of the doll, such as its mouth, eyes, nose, etc. While U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,874 to Pringle describes a shampoo dispenser container in the form of an action figure, such as an army figure, having a fluid pumping system that operates to dispense shampoo from the container in an exploding type pattern as one of the arms of the action figure is operated in a combat type movement. And while U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,863 to Melone et al. describes a dispenser for fluids including a doll body having a pair of pivotally mounted wings thereon, a dispensing assembly in the doll body and a linkage mechanism which is responsive to the pivotal movement of the wings for dispensing fluid from an aperture.
Although the above and similar designs have had limited success, they suffer from the disadvantage that they lack realism by failing to imitate the motion of a consumer, a sales assistant, a waitress and the like dispensing a sample of a product.
There is therefore a need for a sample dispenser having an outward artistic and ornamental appearance which imitates the motion of a consumer, a sales assistant, a waitress and the like dispensing a sample of a product. In particular, there is a need for a sample dispenser for dispensing a sample of a cosmetic product onto the back of the hand of a consumer such that the sample can be readily smelled by the consumer.